Autodesk Infraworks

11/28/2018

As we become more and more mobile and the Internet of Things (IoT) keeps us easily connected, mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular. Mobile computing power and faster wireless connectivity is allowing us to do more without the need for a PC.

With that in mind, here are a few of the currently available Autodesk mobile applications geared for the AEC industry with a short description of what they do.

AutoCAD Mobile – Create, view, edit and share DWG files through your mobile device. AutoCAD mobile is currently available on the App Store, Google Play and Windows Store. Non-Autodesk customers can create a user account to access existing drawings from email or via Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive. Full subscription customers can use existing Autodesk user credentials to access Premium Features and create new drawings through the mobile application.

ReCap Pro – Made for the Leica BLK360 Scanner, ReCap Pro for mobile is only available from the App Store for iPad and iPad Pro. This one is specifically for Leica BLK360 users, so if you own one, this is for you.

A360 Mobile App – Share, view and comment 2D and 3D files from AutoCAD (.DWG and .DWF), Navisworks and Revit through your mobile or web connected device. Sign in with your Autodesk User account to access your files from A360. A360 Mobile is currently available on the App Store, Google Play, and via the web.

BIM 360 Field, Glue & Plan – From the BIM360 family of products, Field, Glue and Plan are all available for iPad on the App Store. Use your Autodesk User account to access files and information from your BIM360 projects.

Autodesk FormIt – For conceptual 3D modeling and design via your mobile device, Autodesk FormIt is available for iPad and web connected devices. No Autodesk account required for basic sketching and model creation, but an Autodesk account is required to export the model out of the mobile app or web interface.

All mobile applications are free to download, but as you can see from the descriptions, an Autodesk User Account is likely required to access the app or activate full functionality. In some cases functionality may not be available to those who do not have current Autodesk Subscriptions or product licenses.

08/15/2018

Those using AutodeskInfraWorks are likely aware of the periodic updates and enhancements made to the application. Since InfraWorks is not on an annual rollout schedule like other Autodesk products, changes and updates can be released any time of the year.

One of the more recent updates added a link toBIM 360 to InfraWorks to generate and store cloud-based models. The Model Builder feature in InfraWorks is now also tied to BIM360, and no longer includes the option to create local copies of models. Here’s a breakdown of what that means and how it might affect your InfraWorks workflow.

Model Builder is set to work with BIM 360 project folders by default

If your Autodesk account is part of any BIM 360 project, Model Builder will default to cloud based model generation. At that point, there is no option to go back to locally downloaded models using the Model Builder feature. Your account must also have full access to the BIM 360 project folder to create models. Users who are set up to view or read-only will see the project folder but will not be able to select it for use. If you’re set up with read-only access to all BIM 360 projects that you are part of, Model Builder will not work.

Read-Only BIM 360 project folders are not selectable, but still appear on the folders list

Because InfraWorks is still based on your Autodesk login, any BIM 360 project folders you have access to will appear on the folder list. Read-Only folders appear to be available but are not selectable as locations to generate a model. In the screenshot above, the “Test Project” is set up as Read-Only, and the other is full access. There is no indication that one folder is Read-Only while the other is not.

BIM 360 project models have a blue cloud icon when the appear in the model list

The new BIM 360 cloud model is on the left and includes a blue circle and cloud icon. An older cloud model is on the right and can still be opened and accessed locally but needs to be upgraded to be synced online.

Models are saved to a local Cache file when opened

By default, online models are saved to a local cache file while the originals are saved in the cloud. Cache files can be deleted while the cloud model remains, however models must be synced for changes to be saved to the cloud version. Deleting a cache file without syncing changes will also delete any changes made to the model and re-downloading the cloud version will take you back to the original or latest synced version.

You can still create a local copy independent of the cloud

A local copy of the model can be created in situations where you will not have cloud access, or models that do not need to be synced. To do this, open the model and use the Duplicate Model command from the Settings & Utilities menu in InfraWorks. Duplicating the model will create a local copy for use that is independent of the original cloud model.

There is a way to download local models using Model Builder

If you are still looking for a way to get local models from Model Builder, there is a way to do it. Removing all BIM 360 project associations from your Autodesk account get you back to local model downloads. If you have been invited to BIM 360 projects by an outside source, they would need to remove you from those projects. There are a few different sites to access BIM 360 projects from. If you’re trying to find out where your account is set up, try these:

Once your account is removed, refreshing project folders will remove the BIM 360 folder section from Model Builder and a note will appear indicating that models will be local copies.

If you’ve noticed some differences in Model Builder on your InfraWorks install lately, I hope this helps to clear things up. Be sure to check back later for more from the IMAGINiT Civil Solutions Blog.

08/01/2018

Here at Ideate + IMAGINiT, we are constantly testing and reviewing the tools and features in our Autodesk applications. Sometimes we discover some helpful tips and tricks that make working through models and datasets a little easier.

You may already know aboutAutoCADkeyboard shortcuts, but did you know thatInfraWorksalso has keyboard shortcuts to help make things easier to access? In this blog post, I’ll break down a few quick keyboard shortcuts to help navigate around an InfraWorks model.

Shortcut #1: Home View = F4 or HOME key

Setting a Home View in InfraWorks is a great way to specify a base location to start from or highlight a specific area of the model where you want to return to quickly. The Home View is normally accessed via the icon in the upper right of the Navigation View Cube. A right-click on the Home icon allows you to reset the home view to your preferred location, and clicking the icon takes you back to that view.

When working in your model, you may want to quickly get back to your Home View without moving your cursor over to the icon. Your keyboard’s F4 key is a built-in shortcut for that. If your keyboard has a HOME key, that also works as a shortcut back to the Home View of your model.

Shortcut #2: Zoom In/Out = “+” and “- “

Those new to Infraworks may notice that mouse navigation is also a little different compared to other Autodesk applications. Rolling the mouse wheel up and down works for zooming in and out in an Infraworks model similar to zooming in and out in AutoCAD. If you’re looking for a keyboard shortcut for Zoom, the “+” and “-“ keys work for that. Zoom In using the “+” key and Zoom Out using the “-“ key. These keys zoom to the center of the view rather than in the direction of the cursor.

Shortcut #3: Elevate Up/Down = “Q” and “E”

In addition to zooming in and out, changing the elevation of the view in Infraworks is also important. By default, pressing and holding the mouse wheel while moving the mouse up or down will change the elevation of the view. That can be difficult to control with the mouse but pressing and holding “Q” to move Up or “E” to move Down makes it easier. You can also use “Q” and “E” while panning.

Shortcut #4: Zoom to Selected = “F” or Double-Click

Zooming to a selected object in Infraworks is also a helpful trick to know. Since there is no Zoom To option, this task normally takes a few clicks to get to. Normally, a double-click on the object will zoom to it. Selecting a feature from the Data Sources tab, then going to the Select Model Features Tools and clicking Zoom to Selected is also a way to do it. To make things easier, selecting an object in the model, then pressing the “F” key will automatically zoom and center it in view (this does not apply to right-click selected Data Source objects).

A full list of keyboard shortcuts can be found here on the Autodesk Knowledge Network (AKN):

07/25/2018

Brian Johnson | Applications Expert

Preliminary design, we do it for many reasons, from sketches to collecting useful GIS data to sharing design intent within the community. Detailed design is time consuming and laborious, so we welcome technology that provides a way to simplify and speed up the process.

An improvement to an existing feature that extends betweenCivil 3D 2019andInfraWorks 2019is intended to improve efficiency via interoperability for road projects. Previously when transferring a preliminary road layout in InfraWorks to Civil 3D, the results in Civil 3D would be an alignment and profiles. The designer would then be required to build out the assembly (typical section) and model the corridor. If you have modeled corridors in Civil 3D before you know the complexity and time it takes. I think you see where this is headed.

Now when opening an InfraWorks model in Civil 3D, component roads will be fully built corridors including the assemblies that can even daylight to the InfraWorks existing ground surface.

How Does it Happen?

Roads that are laid out in InfraWorks must be defined as or converted to Component Roads. The model and included data are exported to an IMX file.

The Export to IMX dialog provides a way for you to determine the extents of the model you want to transfer, the target coordinate system and the storage location for the IMX file itself.

When defining the extents of the model you can choose from either using a polygon or a bounding box to delineate the area. The file will seamlessly get created in the folder you defined in the dialog box and by the name you gave it.

Before opening the InfraWorks model, I recommend reviewing and making any necessary adjustments to the settings and styles which are applied to corridors, assemblies, alignments and profiles during the import process.

Now we are ready to “Open InfraWorks Model” from within Civil 3D

The Open InfraWorks Model dialog provides a way to choose the IMX file that was created in InfraWorks, assign a coordinate system, choose the object settings (the settings that we reviewed in the previous step), and further Refine the Selection Set.

Opening the InfraWorks model will result in importing the data chosen in the selection set, surfaces, alignments, profiles, assemblies and corridor get created and styles set for each.

Ok, so I did have to create the Profile View in the image above for visual effectiveness. Not too bad for the short amount of time to go through the process. Obviously, this is not a final design, but it has gotten me far enough along so that I can adjust the initial design to further refine it as opposed to starting from a blank slate.

07/18/2018

Brian Johnson | Applications Expert

What are shared views and why should I care about them?

Included in the Autodesk 2019 product releases is a new way to collaborate project information without the need for providing files and is supported inAutodesk Civil 3Das well asAutodesk Infraworks, andAutodesk Vault. Shared Views provides an online visual representation of the view of your model or design. Using this new feature allows you to publish both views and information from your Autodesk product into the cloud where it can be viewed in a browser and comments made. Shared views remain available for 30 days and will expire by default, however, you do have the option to extend it.

A shareable link is generated and provides access to your shared view for anyone with a browser. Using the Autodesk Viewer, the recipient can review your design, create markups, and make comments which are all shareable with you and the collaborator does not need an Autodesk product to make it happen.

Publish a Shared View

For blog brevity I will focus on the process in Autodesk Civil 3D, however, the workflow is similar enough in the other Autodesk products.

Kicking off the process, the Shared Views tool can be launched from either the Collaborate tab on the ribbon or from the Application Menu. On the Collaborate tab, Shared Views is located beside the awesome newDWG Compare feature. The Shared Views tool from the ribbon will launch the Shared View Palette and New Shared Views can be created by selecting the button forit.

The Share View window opens to let you control the views you are about to share and give it a name, simple and clean.

Processing takes place in the background and gives you the ability to keep working. When complete you will be notified in the bottom right hand corner of your application.

Selecting the View in Browser link in the notification bubble, will launch your default browser and the Autodesk Viewer to display your shared view.

The Autodesk Viewer provides a way to not only view the shared view but also create markups and make comments. You can share the temporary link with others that will launch Autodesk Viewer in their browser and take them directly to your shared view where they can add comments and markups as well.

The Shared Views palette tracks comments and markups and provides that information within the Autodesk product. You can also respond to comments received.

I can appreciate the usefulness and intent of this collaborative feature. The ability to share information with both internal and external stakeholders can be invaluable when you are knee deep into a project and need to just get it done but information from a key stakeholder is needed.

If you have a few extra minutes, try it out and I think you will find it be simple yet effective.

10/25/2017

A few months ago, IMAGINiT conducted what is now becoming our annual infrastructure (civil, survey, land development) survey which is designed verify our presumptions of what’s happening in the industry based on our interactions. The intent is to ensure we have a clear understanding of what is working, what’s not working, and what challenges organizations are experiencing so that we can meet the needs of our customers to the best of our abilities.

One of the interesting results we verified again this year was that while Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D is almost old enough to take a driver training class, and is top dog in the world of infrastructure design in North America, it’s still for some, the next big thing. This means that while many of our customer interactions related to Civil 3D are related to advanced education, customization and/or optimization of existing implementations, there are some still in need of a complete initial implementation.

What this means is, there are still some who for a variety of reasons, are just now getting on board with Civil 3D, and while the fundamental challenges for these late comers are essentially the same as those who implemented years ago, there are some unique challenges they will experience that are noteworthy.

Issue #1:

Computer and network infrastructures that were sufficient for Land Desktop circa 2009 may not be sufficient to run programs like AutoCAD Civil 3D or Infraworks. This may mean that before rolling out an entirely new design platform like Civil 3D 2018, new hardware may need to be purchased, set up and installed.

There are the obvious hard costs associated to this upgrade, but there’s also the time and productivity speed bumps that changes like this will have on an organization as well.

Issue #2:

The education jump is greater today than it was 8 years ago. For organizations that are running an older version of an AutoCAD-based design software like Land Development Desktop 2009, when they finally do make the move to the latest version of Civil 3D for example, in addition to the features specific to Civil 3D itself, there’s also a substantial number of new and different features at the AutoCAD level that need to be addressed too. Covering the 9 version AutoCAD features gap will necessitate more education to sufficiently get users up to speed. This of course takes more time and expense.

Issue #3:

Redefining your organization. Barring rare cases where some organizations operate in small, closed environments, most regularly interact with other organizations and customers where data sharing is increasingly common. For those that have not been up to speed with the majority of the industry, they’ve been the “squeaky wheel” requiring special accommodations from others requiring files be dumbed down (e.g. ExportToAutoCAD2013), and have been unable to collaborate efficiently with others. For many, this lack of ability has in itself, been the motivator that has finally pushed them to make the move to implementing Civil 3D. As having not done so for so long is often costing them business. Now that these organizations are making the move, not only do they need to get up to speed internally, they also need to redefine themselves for others in their network of customers, partners and competitors. In some cases, this may mean winning back lost customers which as everyone knows is a lot harder than keeping existing customers.

Summary:

For those that are just now making the change, while the hurdles can be challenging, it’s important to remember, the longer you put it off, the more difficult, costly and time consuming it will be when you finally do get around to making it happen. And while many rest on the rationalization that they’ve been saving money by not upgrading thus far, the cost and effort of doing so later will be greater.

Also, after almost 14 years, it’s safe to say that BIM for infrastructure is not a fad that’s going away any time soon.

To put it into survey terms, you don’t want to be the last surveyor using a theodolite, dip needle and plumb bob while your competitors are using robotic total stations, GPS and laser scanners.

Lastly, yes, we can help. At IMAGINiT we have been working with organizations large and small, commercial and government, all across the US and Canada to successfully implement design technology as quickly, efficiently and successfully as possible. If you’re still considering the move and would like to review options, reach out to us. We can help. It’s what we’ve been doing for over 20 years.

08/16/2017

This program is being touted as “Infrastructure Reimagined”, and “InfraWorks® software supports connected BIM (Building Information Modeling) processes, letting designers and civil engineers plan and design infrastructure projects in the context of the real world.”

It is a fantastic tool for Civil Engineers, however, it can also be a valuable tool for City / Urban Planners.

Zoning Setbacks

Zoning Setback requirements dictate how close a building can come to the lot / parcel lines. In most cases there is a height restriction as well. In some cases, the height restrictions can vary with setbacks, having multiple setback / height requirements.

Recommendations

In Infraworks, for vacant or demolished sites, create a building footprint with an appropriate style…

Tracing along the setback lines of lot / parcel lines for the building footprint, and assigning the roof height in the properties. Also give the “Building” an appropriate name.

If the regulations stipulate graduated height restrictions, create another building in the same matter with a different height.

When the architects / developers submit a model (from Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Formit, Sktechup, etc.) then that model can be superimposed over the zoning block model and it is immediately clear if the setback requirements are, or are not met.

By superimposing a proposed model over these limiting bounding boxes, compliance is immediately confirmed (or rejected).

Conclusion

Autodesk Infraworks can be a real asset to Urban and City Planners to check how proposed developments can fit within an existing urban context.

05/11/2017

Considering the high number of Autodesk software users who are on Subscription, it stands to reason that most have access to the latest and greatest versions of Autodesk technology at their fingertips. The question many ponder is, should the latest version software be installed/rolled out now, or later?

The long answer to this question is, it depends on many factors and no two organizations are bound by the exact same circumstances. It’s very difficult and generally inappropriate to apply a “one size fits all” answer to the question. My intent here is to present a few substantial considerations which may help you make this important decision when the time comes.

Will the new version of software improve/enhance abilities to justify the upgrade?

Depending on the particular software you’re using, to a greater or lesser degree, each new version offers something new and/or improved that is intended to benefit users. That said, there is also the reality that the effort and time required to upgrade software, especially if you’re jumping over versions, is something that needs to be considered.

To upgrade software, you need to remember that doing so will require an investment made not just in the cost of the software itself, but also in the time associated with a proper roll-out. Generally, the bigger the jump (in versions), the greater the investment in time (deployment, migration of data, user education, etc.) is needed.

Does the latest version offer enough compelling, time-saving, efficiency-boosting benefits to justify the effort needed to roll it out? While you’re pondering this, don’t forget the very important consideration that staying where you are too long, will put you further behind the industry, which means that waiting to upgrade is really just kicking the can down the road to later time when it will be even more time consuming and costly to deal with.

Over the years, I’ve spoken with many customers who tell me that their roll-out policy is to roll-out every other year/version instead of every year. In other cases, I’ve spoken customers that are 3 or 4 versions behind and are effectively leaving productivity enhancing abilities on the figurative shelf by not upgrading. Again, the longer you stay put, the further you fall behind, making the inevitable update more difficult, time consuming and disruptive.

How will upgrading impact customers and/or partners?

Unless your organization operates in a vacuum where data/files are not shared with the outside world, it’s important that you consider how upgrading to a newer version of software may impact those that you work with or for.

Example: If your organization is using Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015 and you are considering upgrading to 2018, how will the new DWG file format and Civil 3D object versions impact those you share data with? In the case of Civil 3D, while there are technically methods to share data with previous versions (2017, 2016, etc.) it is not seamless, and it will involve a fair bit of time and effort to make happen. Will the benefits of the new software equal or surpass the effort required to share data with your customers and partners who are on older versions of the same software? In some cases, organizations may be expected to deliver files/data in a specific format as part of the deliverables. Will changing versions create a painful conflict?

There are also cases where organizations are effectively bound to a particular version by their customers and/or partners, where when the customer change versions, you need consider your options quickly. In most cases, this generally means that your organization would need to follow suit to not be the ones creating an undesirable collaboration disruption. If you’re on an older version than your customers you share data with, you are putting the burden of jumping through hoops to modify data to conform with your older version on your customers. . . . In most cases, you don’t want to be that squeaky wheel, especially if you have competitors who would be happy to take your work from you by being more compatible to work with.

Can our system infrastructure support the latest version of BIM/design software?

This may seem like an easy one, but there’s more to consider than just the workstation hardware/OS and its measure against theAutodesk System Requirements. While the Autodesk published system requirements will provide the needed hardware horsepower to operate the software, it does not address everything needed for optimalperformance. In many cases, more is indeed better.

Also, It’s important to keep in mind that the workstation itself is only part of the story when it comes to overall performance. In most cases, organizations users are connected to a network and file servers. In addition, many organizations have distributed workforces, where not everyone that is involved in project work are under the same roof, and remote offices and/or users are very common. This means that in addition to the specifications of the designer’s workstation, we also need to consider whether the network infrastructure is sufficient to support multiple users, sharing/referencing many (sometimes very large) files.

Are the network servers sufficiently powerful to handle all of the necessary traffic? Is your WAN infrastructure fast enough to support remote users without painful and costly slowdowns/delays?

These are just a few of the things that need to be considered before making the leap to the latest and greatest software.

04/26/2017

Today I would like to talk about the value of time. Everyone knows the saying that “Time is money”, and for anyone who works for a living, there’s no arguing that. That said, it is ceaselessly surprising to me how often I engage with people and organizations that will make a conscious choice to do things they know are inefficient, which equals wasting time, which equals wasting money.

Translation: Some people know time is money, and they don’t mind wasting it.

Why people and organizations sometimes willingly choose to do things that they know will cost them money is difficult to understand however, I have a few theories on the subject.

Theory 1:

Cause and effect delay/Out of sight, out of mind

Because the cause and effect relationship associated with inefficiencies are not always immediately obvious, they're easy to miss or underappreciate. I also call this the “out of sight, out of mind” scenario.

Example: In cases where organizations have not properly implemented their design technology, their daily operations, workflows and efforts are peppered with costly inefficiencies. All day, every day, inefficient step by inefficient step organizations are losing money.

In most cases this happens because these organizations have not experienced the benefits and productivity enhancing potential that results from a proper implementation (optimization, education, support, etc.), it's difficult to appreciate the difference. Add to that the fact that the negative impact of not implementing properly doesn’t present itself all at once in an unmistakable way, these organizations have difficulty gauging how inefficient they truly are, and how much time and money is being lost.

Theory 2:

Good enough

Example: Some organizations rationalize that because they didn’t spend money (invest) in their design technology implementation from the start, they’ve saved money. Because these organizations may be technically getting by, they deem that they're doing “good enough”. Add the cause and effect delay factor, and over time, despite having saved money by not properly implementing from the start, their “savings” will soon diminish and the organization will cross over into lost productivity/lost time/most money territory.

Saving a few dollars is easy to measure in a spreadsheet when compared to making the necessary investments up front. This is especially true when it’s difficult to measure the impact and/or lost productivity over time. As with the Cause and Effect scenario, the actual costs associated from not implementing from the start is not something that lands all at once. Therefore again, it’s easy to ignore and easy to rationalize away as having saved money and effectively doing “good enough”. . . . for a while at least . . . .

That bring us to today. What I’m finding today is we're having the same conversations with the same organizations we’ve spoken with in the past about a what a proper implementation is. Keep in mind, these are the same organizations who when we last spoke of the subject, choose not to act and are now coming back to review the options again today. Why is this?

Whether it was the “good enough” or the “out of sight, out of mind” rational they were using in the past to not act on a proper implementation, it seems that reality has finally caught up to them and the inevitable accumulative impact of unrealized productivity has reared its ugly head in the form of lost dollars. Eventually, the eminent productivity losses piles up to an unavoidable and unmistakable problem that must be addressed which results in a new conversations on an old subject.

For these organizations, the solution is for the most part the same today as it was in the past, which is to properly implement the technology to get the greatest potential productivity possible.

Obviously, we can still help these organizations going forward by assisting them with proper implementation services however, what we can’t do is undo the lost time/productivity/money that they’ve experienced since they initially chose to not properly implement in the first place.

The moral or the story is, the sooner an organization properly implements their design technology, the sooner they can experience high levels or productivity, efficiency and profitability. The longer they wait to implement, the longer they’re losing time and money.

03/16/2017

Here at IMAGINiT, we’ve been helping customers implement Civil 3D and various other technologies from Autodesk for over 20 years. In addition to learning a lot about how to best set an organization up on the right design technology, we have also learned the time-tested fact that history does indeed repeat itself.

Back in the 90’s, many civil/infrastructure/survey organizations were implementing Softdesk/DCA/Land Desktop along with the latest version of AutoCAD. In the beginning, we had the “early adopters” who were motivated by the benefits of the technology and were willing, planning and budgeting to make the leap to get a jump on their competition with the latest and greatest technology.

The second general group of adopters were the “majority adopters”, who after the “early adopters” had blazed the trail towards success, chose to follow suit for obvious reasons. They too planned, and in most cases budgeted for their technology implementation. This second phase of adoption was the largest by far and is where most organizations found their way to using the latest technology of the time.

The last to make the move was the “laggard adoption” group, where organizations for various reasons had put off the implementation of the newer technology as long as possible, and usually didn’t make the move until something essentially forced them to do so. In the case of these late adopters, many had not willingly made this jump to take advantage of the technology and its benefits. Also in many cases they often had little to no budget, or a plan to make it a successful process.

As the old saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail”.

Over the years, this saying has proven itself to be true, as many of the late adopters can tell you. Unfortunately some of the laggards who were late to make the move, never got past the speed bumps of a poorly, or unplanned adoption, and once compounded with the added challenges of tough economic conditions, found themselves in a difficult place with their business as a whole.

Fast forward to 2017, while the technology de jour has changed, the tried and true adoption curve rules have not and have once again proven itself to be an accurate predictor of how organizations adopt technology.

In the case of AutoCAD Civil 3D, the program has been out for over 12 years, and from a technology perspective, is considered very mature. AutoCAD Civil 3D has a very high (though not complete) adoption level within the civil/infrastructure/survey industry, particularly in the US and Canada. At this time, it's safe to say we’ve seen the “early adopters” and “majority adopters” come to pass.

That brings us to where we are today, which is in the latter stages of “laggard adoption” territory for Civil 3D.

As it has happened in the past, we once again see the same behaviors play out, where the late adopters are struggling with, reeling from and generally bucking the necessary and unavoidable realities of what it takes to implement a new design platform. Organizations today that have just recently decided that it’s time to make the move, are begrudgingly, through gritted teeth, trudging forwarded and are looking for that darn and elusive Easy Button.

In conversations with these organizations, there are a few common themes:

They want to successfully adopt Civil 3D as quickly as possible

They would like to effectively change nothing about how they operate

They would like to avoid, or greatly limit training

They have little to no time allotted for the adoption

They have no plan/strategy to successfully adopt Civil 3D

They have very little or no budget for the implementation

In short, other than wanting to make it as quick, inexpensive and minimally disruptive as possible, all they just want it to be done with the implementation so they can get back to work. While this is completely understandable, the truth is in most cases, it’s just not that easy to do. And sadly, as it turns out, there really is no Easy Button.

The fact is, as was the case with the adopters who have proceeded the laggards in successfully implementing new technology, there are a few basic aspects that will need to be dealt with to successfully adopt a new design technology.

The (unavoidable) realities of adopting new design technology are:

It will take time

It will have some short-term impact on productivity

There will be expense involved

There will be resistance

It will not happen (successfully) overnight

To recap, there is no easy button, cost-free, time-free, disruption-free path to a major change to your primary design technology. Any organization who has tried the (fill in the blank)-free implementation path can surly attest to the painful reality lesson they’ve learned as a result of its failure.

The question is, Realistically, how can the time, expense and hassle related to implementing new design technology be minimized? The simple answer is, planning and using proven implementation methodologies.

That brings me to the response to the conversations we’re having with late adopters today when they inevitably cite their concerns and questions related to a new design platform implementation.

In short, we can help. Yes, I know this sounds like a cheap ploy to promote our business, but the truth is, IMAGINiT has done this for hundreds of organizations, large and small, private and government all across the US and Canada. We have over 10 years of experience with Civil 3D implementation alone. We have 15 technical experts on staff who have experienced both directly and vicariously through customer’s previous experiences, what works and what doesn’t work. We have developed a range of services from our quick and inexpensive Civil 3D Jumpstart for small organizations with limited budgets and staff, to our comprehensive TakeAIM implementation services which address all facets related to developing and implementing a custom implementation including education, customized design environment and support.

All of our services involve planning and proven strategies, which are based on tried and tested approaches to making the adoption of a new design platform as quick, painless and minimally disruptive as possible.

In closing, can an organization simply install the latest software on their systems and have their designers and engineers watch some YouTube videos to implement the latest design technology? Sure you can. Will it actually work? Will you be successful? Will your productivity be improved and will it make you more competitive? Maybe, but as many who have tried can tell you, probably not.

A better option is to work with a consultant who has done this hundreds of times. An organization that has created and refined their services to make the adoption process as smooth, painless and successful as possible. This method works. We know it does, and so do our customers. We can help you too. . . . . . you just have to contact us.